Tirupati:Chiranjeevi to launch party tomorrow

Tirupati: Twenty special trains, 4,000 buses and some 20,000 SUVs will ferry over 5 lakh people from across Andhra Pradesh for Chiranjeevi's first public meeting in Tirupati on Tuesday.

Chiranjeevi's managers are tight-lipped about the event, but it is expected to be a grand Tollywood affair. Reports say helicopters will shower petals on the star and as many as 12 LCD screens will beam proceedings to his fans.

The mega-star certainly has mega-plans, but the people who are being inconvinienced are the devotees of Lord Balaji who are in the temple town of Tirupati.

Politicians and the actor's fans have occupied all hotels and lodging houses in Tirupati and pilgrims have no place to stay.

A pilgrim, Muni Ratnam says, ""We have come to Tirupati only to get a darshan of the Lord. But there's no place to stay. Everywhere we go, there are no rooms available."

A severe diesel shortage in the district too is worrying organisers.

Chiranjeevi's party worker, Venugopal Raidu says, "There is a shortage and we're upset at how irresponsibly the oil companies have behaved at such an important time. We are having to make alternate arrangements, bring in diesel from outside."

Security is tight in the temple town and paramilitary forces have also been deployed as well as siniffer dogs. As the Tirupati administration struggles to cope with the teeming lakhs, Chiranjeevi will offer prayers to Lord Balaji before he faces the public.